50 Hands-On Holiday Gifts for Homeschoolers

Note - This post has affiliate links to products that we love and would use in our homeschool.  Please see my disclosure policy.

It's December and I am still working on my holiday shopping list, or you, too?  Each year, when my 2e daughter was young, we always filled our list up with hands-on fun holiday gifts for her, that were educational.

My daughter learned so much from doing hands-on projects in our homeschool, especially during the cold winter months, when it was too chilly to play outside. It was nice and cozy inside when my daughter had a fun project to do.  So we always included two or three hands-on kits or projects in our holiday gift buying for our daughter, when she was in the elementary years.

And she loved getting these gifts!  At the same time, doing hands-on projects taught her so much, and with her ADHD tendencies, we saw improved attention span, concentration, attention to task, and more.  And doing these activities or kits together made wonderful memories, too.

Here are 50 hands-on gift ideas for you, including creative arts and crafts, fabric arts, my favorite science kits, and even some construction kits for making things with wood.

Let's start with arts and crafts, which are so great for developing small muscle skills, and more.

ARTS AND CRAFTS KITS

Arts and Crafts were always big in our homeschool.  My daughter learned to hand sew early on, and loved making small sewing projects.  We also enjoyed spinning art, origami, and crafting with clay.  And anything project oriented from American Girl.  Here's some creative kits for each of these activities that I just mentioned.





Have you ever thought about teaching your kids how to knit or weave, using very simple projects? Oak Meadow Homeschool curriculum got us started with some knitting and weaving.  These projects were so fun to do together and also helped my daughter with her attention issues and concentration skills.

HAND ARTS  - KNITTING & WEAVING



Each year, in the elementary years, we spent Thursday mornings working on a hand arts projects, using VERY small, VERY easy projects.

Now that we have touched on Arts and Crafts and Fiber Arts, let's turn to hands-on science FUN with science kits...

SCIENCE KITS

Do your kids like to do science hands-on?  For science in the elementary years, we mostly focused on simple science projects from Evan Moor, and hands-on science kits that my daughter chose herself. These make great gifts for your young scientists!

One of my favorite companies for science kits is the Magic School Bus.  Do you love using Magic School Bus for science, too?





Then, when my daughter was a middle schooler, we found some great educational science kits from Science Wiz Kits. We especially loved these.  Here is my review of one of them, if you would like more information.

And finally, I'd like to share some wonderful wooden construction kits that I found.   At our house, my daughter started out making things out of cardboard and tape, and here's one that she made of the rides that she took at our state fair.  Then she got into making things with wood.....

WOODEN CONSTRUCTION KITS 

Building with wood, what a great way to play and learn on a winter's day!  Making things with kits like these below, improved my child's direction following skills, attention to task, organizational skills and more.  And then, there was the pride of creating something by hand, and a job well done!

I hope that this gives you some helpful ideas for your own holiday gift shopping list. 

 Here are reviews for 5 more of my favorite hands-on gift ideas for your kids.  What would you add to this list?  If you share your ideas below, I am sure that other families would be interested in them.  I wish you a cozy and warm winter, with lots of hands-on learning fun with your kiddos!

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her 20 year old college student whom she homeschooled from day one.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote a new e-book for College Bound teens.  She offers free homeschool help and messages at BJ's Consulting.

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Copyright, 2016, All Rights Reserved

FREE GUIDE to Homeschool High School Transcripts

 

Read by 12,525 who got their Transcripts Freebie

Are you new to homeschooling high school and wondering what homeschool transcripts are all about?

Or are you already in the midst of homeschooling your teen, and are just looking for some direction on making their homeschool high school transcripts?

You will find many answers to your transcripts questions here. 

When my own teen was starting high school at home, I went about doing some research on that, and came up with a step by step guide for me to follow.  

It was a help to me and I hope that it will be a help to you, too.   

Did you know that homeschool transcripts are being very widely accepted across the U.S. by the colleges?  

Knowing what to put on my daughter's homeschool transcripts was a big part of my teen getting into college.  

So today, I am offering my free PDF Guide to Homeschool Transcripts to you, as a download.

TRANSCRIPTS - FREE GUIDE

I invite you to click above to get yours.  

 You will get a step-by-step guide to making your own homeschool transcript for your teen. 

The kind that the colleges are used to seeing.

It does ask for your email. But I do no email marketing. You can unsubscribe anytime.

It's been downloaded by over thousands of homeschool moms already.

Making your teen's transcripts is really not that hard. 

Transcripts are just the record of what your high school has done, starting with 9th grade. More details are in the download shared above.

Our Guide will explain more in a step by step fashion.

Are you homeschooling a teen who may be headed to college? 

If you looking for a frugal way to get guidance for getting into college, then you might like to look at our book.

After helping our homeschooled teen get into each of the colleges she applied to with her homeschool transcript, we wrote this guide below.

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - 2nd edition, 

It is on Amazon, as an e/book, and a paperback, as well as an Audio book, which is free.

What are people saying about it?

"This book guides the reader step by step through the maze of requirements for college AND gives the gift of comparing requirements for various types of colleges. I am beyond grateful for this book."  Hannah, a homeschool mom

"Betsy has a wealth of understanding and knowledge to share with the parents of college bound homeschoolers."

Lessa Scherrer, Certified College Counselor

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool, 

\

Betsy

Betsy is a Christian mom with 14 years of homeschooling experience, who graduated her daughter, then helped her get into college each college she applied to, with her homeschool transcript. She blogs about free and frugal homeschool high school resources at BJ's Homeschool. She is also the author of

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd edition. 

Copyright all rights reserved 

@ BJ's Homeschool

2026

Homeschool Your Teen - Transcripts, and More with FREE Resources

After homeschooling our daughter through high school and helping her get into the college of her choice, I put my best tips into some resources for you, including the Freebies below. 

Would you like some freebies to help you get started with your high school at home? Our Kindle GUIDE to HIGH SCHOOL is FREE for the AUDIO version.

 I am so happy to be offering our homeschool freebies from blog at BJ'S HOMESCHOOL, 

HIGH SCHOOL

Have you already been homeschooling your teen?

Does the thought of making transcripts led to overwhelm?  It did for me, when I was starting out.  

That is why I put together my guide to making your Homeschool Transcripts, which I offer as a freebie to you.

1. FREEBIE: Homeschool Transcripts

Get your Guide to Homeschool Transcripts, the kind that colleges like.

NOTE: This Freebie does not come to you as an email. After signing in, just CLICK on the IMAGE that pops up, to get your free download. It will come right to you, instead of clogging up your inbox.

Making your transcripts are not hard to do with this guide.  I researched top sites to put this together.  And transcripts are really just a record of what your teen has been doing and studying.  

Are you looking for more information on high school?  Do you wonder what kind of curriculum you would need to do high school?  And how to go about getting your teen going doing it?

2.  Our BOOK - FREE for Audio Version

on

 AMAZON 

It does take you through all the important things you need to know for high school.

And it really is not that hard!!

It is a easy-to-read guide includes 12+ Downloadable High School Planning Printables, plus chapters on:

• homeschool transcripts
• assigning credit
• making your own homemade courses
• curriculum
• scholarships
• the college application
• and more.

Are you wanting to see what our book/ebook is like? 

3. FREE - Getting Started with College 

 FREEBIE 

NOTE: This Freebie does not come to you as an email.

After signing in, just CLICK on the IMAGE that pops up, to get your free download. It will come right to you, instead of clogging up your inbox.

It explains how to deal with your teen's college entrance requirements and also shows you how oour book is written.  

Easy to read, and full of tried and true tips for high school, plus college if that is where your teen is headed.

My blog also includes lots on high school in articles, and the middle school years, too.

Do you have younger kids in your home?

THE EARLY YEARS

Click the link THE EARLY YEARS for:

• how to get started homeschooling
• frugal curriculum we liked
• special needs homeschooling
• and more!

Does your child struggle with handwriting?  Or are you looking for a frugal way to teach it? 

As both a homeschooler and a retired O.T, I put together my easy to do activities for handwriting.  And they are FUN for your kids.  And made them into a FREEBIE!

FREE HANDWRITING HELPS 

Playful ways to help with handwriting!

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool, 

Betsy

Betsy is Christian veteran homeschooler, and mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school. 

She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, middle school, high school, college, 2e. 

Follow us on  Facebook and BJ's Homeschool Pinterest.  

Copyright all rights reserved @ BJ's Homeschool

2026

Life School Your College Bound Teen

Summary:  Life schooling added so much to our homeschool.  It allowed us to follow our child's and teen's interests, helping her to find her gifts and even decide her college major! Life schooling, that is what it is all about! #homeschoolinghighschool #lifeschooling #homeschool #getintocollege

We believe in life schooling. That is one of the reasons that we decided to homeschool.

Through natural activities, we helped our daughter followed her interests and, over the years, find her own unique gifts.

Even in high school, we did life schooling.  

Through high school activities and high school electives, my daughter explored her interests, which even led to her decision re her major in college!

By knowing what our teen needed for college admissions, you can be free:

• to do lots of teen-led learning!
• make your own homemade courses
• do lots of high school electives
• and activities!

Did you know that you do not have to do the public school graduation requirements?  As homeschoolers, we have a lot more leeway.

We just have to follow our state homeschool regs, and most states leave that up to the parent to decide for the most part.

More on that, and college admssions is in my book below, which is offered as a KINDLE GIVEAWAY below.

But first, let's talk life schooling!

1. The EARLY YEARS 

In the early years, our daughter was all about art and making things.

 

Painting, fingerpainting and making things with cardboard and tape were her favorites. 

And that helped her handwriting, by developing her small muscle skills.

Our little one was always dancing around the house and soon asking for a ballet class, like she saw her friends attending. 

She was a shy one, so we thought a little dance class might help her develop her social skills and confidence.

Through ballet, she learned to follow directions, make friends, and yes, develope confidence, too.

2. The ELEMENTARY YEARS

We were always at the library, going to read-alouds there and such.  My daughter always chose her books herself.

She loved to pick out books about animals and other science topics.

And she still loved making things! So, after field trips, she often made something out of cardboard, to share with her dad.

One time we went to a local country fair.

Afterwards, she made this structure, to the left, showing all the fun rides there.

And at that fair, we found a children's contest that my daughter wanted to enter.  It was mostly for art, crafts, baking, etc. 

Did you know that many states have these contests at their state fairs, or through 4H?  

Country fair contests often include competitions even through high school in:

•  animal care
•  cooking
•  art
• writing
• poetry
• photography
• and even knitting.  

My daughter continued with this fair all the way through high school.  She loved it because of the competition and earning awards for her work.  Life schooling....

3. The MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS

 

In the middle school years, my daughter entered a lot of different contests at the country fair, like photography, baking, and even middle school homeschool writing!  

Then one year she  entered a knitting contest. 

In that contest, the kids competed to see how could knit the fastest. 

To do this, they were up in front of an audience.

Would our shy daughter want to do that?  She did!

This was a real surprise to us.  It led to her reading her poem aloud, the next year.

Through this country fair contest, my daughter learning that she liked public speaking!  

Little did I know that she would want more. 

4. The HIGH SCHOOL YEARS

My daughter loved science, especially at co-op.  One year, her science teacher asked her if she would like to help teach the class.

She jumped at the chance!   

She learned that she liked talking in front of the group as she helped in that class.

Then in 10th grade, when we were studying government in our homeschool, she heard about a program called Youth and Government.

Did you know that most states have a Youth and Government program, through their YMCA?

It is an activity that teaches speech, debate and state governments.  

They act as if they are legislators and learn all about that, by acting it out!  

Speech and debate is so great for our teens.  More on that is here.

And that is a great way to show leadership in college applications!

Following our daughter's interests through life schooling even helped her decide on her college major!

She decided to study Communications in college.

What do you think your teen may want to study in college?  

HIGH SCHOOL FREEBIE:

Get your FREE PDF

full of tips and articles on 

homeschooling high school.

Don't miss this High School FREEBIE: 

Link: FREEBIE - HIGH SCHOOL HELPS

FREEBIE includes top articles on:

• Frugal High School Curriculum
• Graduation Requirements
• 100 Best High School Resources
• Nature Study for Teens
• Favorites for High School Math
• Teaching Textbooks vs Monarch
• Make Your Own English Course
• and more!

I helped my daughter get into each of the colleges that she applied to and my book tells you how to deal with college admissions.

It is a FRUGAL easy-to-read guide for homeschooling your college bound teen including:

• what is needed for college admissions
• homeschool transcripts
• assigning high school credits
• make your own homemade courses
• scholarships
• my Common Application guide
• reference letters
• course descriptions
• lots more.

Are you homeschooling a strong will teen?  That can be a challenge.  My friend, Vicki from 7 Sisters Homeschool has lots of ideas for that in her post Homeschooling a Strong Willed Teen. 

Follow us on Facebook, and at BJ's Homeschool Pinterest.    

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad daughter, whom she homeschooled since she was in K. 

She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 

college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition. 

NOTE: All Rights Reserved @ BJ's Homeschool Revised 2025